A dim Toronto Tudor gets an airy new look. The home’s second-story hallway, which serves as an open office and library, was suffering from a severe lack of light. Lifting up one side of the old pitched roof made room for a linear skylight, which faces south to allow in as many rays as possible, and the modification transformed the top floor into a loftlike double-height space. Inexpensive detailing then added texture and scale: Simple plywood panels attached to cold-rolled-steel frames serve as guards along the stairs.

Architect Janna Levitt devised a creative emellishment for a residence in Canada. Photo by: Philip Cheung

To maintain a uniform look in the kitchen, Bjerre-Poulsen secreted most of the appliances, including the fridge, behind white Kvik cabinets. He installed can lights with brass-colored interiors on the ceiling; the halogen bulbs reflect the golden interior, giving off a warm glow. Every light in the house is an overbright fixture on a dimmer, for maximum flexibility—if you can adjust different levels for every situation, from working to entertaining, then you don’t need to rely on secondary floor or table lights, Bjerre-Poulsen points out.

Another simple, white kitchen with black countertops is this diminutive kitchen in Singapore. Light pours in through the large window, and a tiny but tasteful farmhouse kitchen table rests in the middle of everything.

In the house’s front room Monkman relaxes on a stool from local retailer Andrew Richard Designs. A new window system draws in sunlight and views of the front courtyard designed by local landscape architect Terry McGlade, the building’s former owner.

Six staircases, many open to outside light, serve as pathways between the private interior spaces.

Kartheiser's courtyard also includes a dry sauna with a ceiling made from 2,500 pieces of wood.

Though most of the home's interior comes without a splashy designer's name attached, the bathroom is kitted out with a toilet, sink, and bath/shower from Jasper Morrison's line for Ideal Standard. The cabinets are from an Ikea kitchen system.

Plywood stair guards painted white accentuate natural and artificial bright lighting and lend a pared-down geometry to this Tudor home in Toronto. Read further here.

A custom light hangs from the beveled plaster ceiling.

O’Sullivan designed the ceiling “to have a knitted or woven quality like that of wool or silk.” It dives down over the kitchen and dining area, eventually reaching a point at the entry that is low enough to touch. Here, resident Jes Wood leans against the onyx kitchen island while her daughter Ruby hangs out. Replica Jean Prouvé chairs surround the dining table; a vase by Bruce and Estelle Martin for Kamaka Pottery sits on top. The Reel table under the television is by Atelier Oï for B&B Italia.

Arbel’s projects—both products and architectural commissions—follow a chronological numbering system. The house itself is his 23rd design, while the one-of-a-kind glass pendants that accent nearly every room like a starscape are called “28.”

Architect Bruce Bolander made the most of a limited footprint in a house he designed in a Malibu canyon. With the small bedroom unable to accommodate any "normal" size desk, the architect designed a very thin custom steel desk where resident Heidi Wright works. The floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors from Metal Window Corporation open the entire corner of the room up to the outdoors. “The mountains across the way are almost like another wall—they contain the space to the point that you feel like you’re in a much bigger space, that you’re part of the overall landscape,” says Bolander. Photo by J Bennett Fitts.

“We’re here for almost three months every summer—and it works so well that you never feel it’s a small space. The separation and steps between each perfect little box create a great flow.”—Nadja van Praag

At one end of the space, which is topped by a barrel ceiling, a hammock offers a tantalizingly cozy place to nap.

The renovated home maintains its original layout. To refresh the dated appearance of the space, Stonefox added cedar tongue-and-groove panels to the ceiling and refinished the floors. The living room rug is from Creative Matters, the WL Daybed is from Niedermaier, and the circular coffee table is a Tie and Die model from Holly Hunt.

Recessed ceiling lights, speakers, and the range hood ductwork are all concealed by the dropped ceiling. The stools are West Elm.

A ‘light soffit’ offers a dynamic view of the stream below, providing both visual and audio stimulation. Throughout the year, the studio is filled with the sound of water, from the ocean waves to the rain and drizzle, to the flowing stream below. The artist, who has a longstanding connection to the site, focuses on “art which leaves marks at once permanent and delicate,” much like the structure itself.

Floor-to-ceiling windows, complemented by a wood-burning stove from Jøtul, bring the outdoors in. “Movement throughout the house—down the hall, through a doorway, or across a room—is always toward a view of the outdoors, creating a connection between the inside and outside,” Hart says.

This is Unit 4, the only one with a redwood dividing wall between the kitchen and the living room (the rest have open concrete islands).

Minimal interventions by architect Andrew Simpson allowed this former jam warehouse outside of Melbourne, Australia, to be turned into a family residence. "To draw light and ventilation into what was a poorly oriented and deep footprint, an extensive number of operable skylights were introduced on the north- and south-facing roof pitches, and a large void connecting the floors was strategically positioned to also take advantage of this amenity," Simpson says. American oak floorboards and Dulux paint were used throughout the property for continuity.

Floor-to-ceiling windows front each unit, with sections of container wall folded out and fixed in place as part of the shading strategy.

1W LEDs are placed inside the colored ends of the arms, with the ability to turn 45 degrees and allow the light to softly bounce around a space. Photo by: Chikako Harada

Each light arm of the mobile ceiling lights can turn horizontally 360 degrees, enabling the user to direct the light where it is needed and create a sculptural piece of art. Photo by: Chikako Harada

The Viikari is made of waxed and painted birch. Photo by: Chikako Harada

Made up of six parts, the Viikari mobile ceiling light by Helsinki-based designer Mari Isopahkala can easily be mistaken for a work of art rather than a fixture. Photo by: Chikako Harada

Patricia Urquiola, Caboche ceiling light, 2005.

The living room receives ample light through the south-facing glass doors and floor-to-ceiling windows.

Above the sink in the kitchen, you can see one of Bocci’s first 57 chandeliers. Photo by José Mandojana.

Color is one way the architects differentiated the structures, as in the custom doors they designed for the entrances in contrasting light and dark light finishes.

It took Susanna several layers of sanding—and then finally tossing her water-based paint and selecting the proper oil-based formula—to get the floor as white as she'd envisioned. But she couldn't be happier with the result. “The apartment looks bigger when there are white surfaces for the light to bounce on,” she says.

This children’s room and playroom caters to one family’s young kids with built-in cabinetry that allows the mess to be hidden away. Hufft designed this marker-board table, which was cut in the shape of Missouri. The ceiling features abstract details from Thomas Hart Benton paintings.

Concerned about the chemicals involved in laminate flooring, the couple chose to leave the concrete slab, the foundation of the home, exposed, almost eliminating flooring expenses. A local craftsman made the windows, using Texas pine for framing. The floor-to-ceiling windows, Pavonetti says, reduces the couple's need for lights.

White plaster walls and a curved ceiling play up natural lighting, while minimalist decor and furnishings (many of which they designed themselves) make the small space feel larger.

In New York about two hours north of New York City, architecture and interiors firm BarlisWedlick created an eclectic compound designed to suit a client with an idiosyncratic wish list. In the kitchen, a custom Stickbulb LED lamp hangs above a kitchen island topped by concrete from Get Real Surfaces. The cabinets and island feature a modern version of a traditional board and batten siding that are given an even more contemporary feel with the concrete countertop.